Brothers
by Aziquesa
Summary: Revolves mostly around the relationship between Delsin Rowe and his brother Reggie Rowe. This is shortly after he got control of his powers, maybe a day or two after they first arrived in Seattle.
1. 1 - Wounded

**Chapter 1 - Wounded**

His vision had gotten blurry, and the smoke around him wasn't helping the slightest. He saw a figure in beige further up ahead, among all the green and brown. It had to be who he searched for. He couldn't hold much longer, and he had to see them before he passed out. Limping forward, he opened his mouth to shout, but it only came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Re...ggi-..?". The figure seemed to have heard him however, as it turned toward him. "Delsin!" he heard the other shout, and the familiar voice sent a faint smile upon his lips. He limped a few more steps before he stumbled and fell. Strong arms caught him before he reached the ground, and his head and upper body suddenly came to rest against something firm, yet soft. He opened his eyes to see the face of his older brother looking down at him with a shocked expression.

"Heey Reg..." he said with a faint chuckle. Speaking was hard with his dry and soar throat, and he coughed weakly after finishing his sentence. His brother didn't calm down the slightest. The action only seemed to have made matters worse. "Del, you-... You're evaporating?!" Reggie said while grasping his younger brother firmly, as if to keep him from doing so. He was with no doubt panicking. "Oh...that..." Delsin answered drunkenly and chuckled again. Black was now lining the edges of his vision, and he blinked in a try to get rid of it, without success.

"Reg-" he started, but his throat were so dry, and he coughed violently. It sent a sting of pain through his chest with every cough, and he felt himself trembling in his brother's firm grip. He heard his panicked voice shout at him, but his hearing had started to bail on him, and his entire body was growing heavier by the minute. His head fell to the side and his eyes locked on a car wreck just a few meters away.

"S-... Smo...ke..." he breathed and saw his arm lift and stretch toward it. He was so tired... He just wanted to rest for a while. Rest his eyes for just a moment. His eyelids slid shut and the world moved uncomfortably. Soon, he felt a familiar heat embrace his wrist. He cracked his eyes open to gaze at the wondrous dark gray smoke rising from the wreckage below him. It was a peaceful sight to lay eyes upon. Then and there, Delsin felt at peace. With his newfound element so close, he was satisfied with the situation. Right then, getting some rest was utterly inviting.

Just as he was beginning to feel lightheaded and his eyelids were closing, he was disturbed by the world shaking him violently. His eyes darted upwards and locked on to a familiar face. He saw their lips moving, but all he could hear was muffled noises. The world shook him again, and he groaned silently, annoyed to be denied the much desired sleep. A slight burn on his index finger sent a small burst of energy through his arm and cleared his clouded mind. He now remembered he was in his brother's arms and severely wounded. He was exhausted, but he realized it was a question of life or death. He focused on the heat still burning his finger, and it immediately started tingling in his nerves. An enormous burst of energy scorched through his body, and he gasped when his senses was kicked to life again. The pain from his wounds was unbearable, but it dulled just as quick as it erupted, and he was able to breathe normally again.

As he blinked away the blackness from the edges of his vision, he heard a sniffle in his ear. He wondered what or who it was before he felt the strong grip around him tighten. Reggie was still holding him against his chest, and Delsin wondered how long he had been out. He squirmed a bit, starting to feel awkward in his brother's arms. "Uhh... Reg?" he asked, and said man flinched and jerked his head up. His eyes were stained with red, and wet streams could be seen on his cheeks. Had he actually been crying?

"Delsin!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking. "You're alright-... I thought I'd lost you brother..." he croaked while hanging his head, forehead to forehead with his younger sibling. "Yea, well... You didn't. Now can I... Please?" Delsin answered, gesturing for the older one to release him. Reggie got the hint and eased his grip. The younger awkwardly pushed himself off the ground. Still a bit lightheaded, he lost balance, but was caught by a strong arm grasping around his shoulders.

"Reg, I'm okay, really" he assured him, though unsuccessfully. "Yea really..." Reggie answered with a distinctive sarcastic tone while glaring at him. "What the hell was that anyway?!" he exclaimed, now serious and voice raised. "What was what?" the younger questioned with a confused look.

"There was fucking smoke pouring out of your body, man! And not just a bit either!"

"Oh- Uhmm..." he said, breaking eye contact while trying to come up with a good answer, with no success. He gave up and let out a sigh. Instead of bringing up a lie, as he would usually do, this near-death experience had brought out a new side of his older brother. "I was- Errm... I-...". He closed his mouth as he couldn't come up with a good way to say it. _'_ _I was dying',_ he thought. Why was it so hard to just say it out loud? Maybe he should just shut it and not worry Reggie more than he already was. He felt eyes on him and looked up with that reassuring smile only he could pull off. He was about to say one of his _'it's nothing'_ -lines, but clenched his jaw before he could open it. Better just leave it than stir things up. Reggie looked stern at first, but soon softened and tapped Delsin on his shoulder.

"Let's go get some rest, bud'" he said calmly with a faint smile on his lips. Delsin nodded and smiled back, and they both started walking up the forest-lined street.

 _ **To be continued...**_


	2. 2 - Flashbacks

**Chapter 2 - Flashbacks**

The sun was heating his already warm skin as he was sitting in a chair, shoving perfectly crispy fries in his mouth. It felt like he hadn't eaten in months. The fries and double-cheese burger was disgustingly greasy and stuffed to the top with unhealthy fat, but it was so damn delicious. With how hungry he was, it was heaven on earth. After swallowing the fries, he took a bite of his burger and groaned with satisfaction. His brother glared at him from the other side of the table, amazed. "Hey, take a breath between bites? How long has it been since you last ate?" he asked with a chuckle and raised eyebrows. Delsin grabbed the Pepsi to gush down his food with three large gulps. "Awh man, this. Is. Heaven!" he stated when he finally could speak, which only made his brother slowly shake his head and sigh. "Didn't you eat at Salmon Bay?"

"Dude, I slept in that morning, and when it was time for lunch the truck showed up and all of a sudden I'm a fricken' super human!" Delsin retorted while gesturing with his hand, marking the importance of every word he said. He took another bite of his burger, ignoring Reggie's stern look when he mentioned the super human part. Bringing up the topic sparked his emotion to life, and images from the previous week flashed by his mind.

 **...**

 _"Do you know how embarrassing it is to arrest my own brother over and over and over?"_

 _Reggie's furious voice echoed in his head. He remembered his own fury as they fought, and then the confusion and fright when the truck crashed barely meters in front of them. The pride he felt when he rescued the man from getting crushed under the metal door. Then shock when he was punched and grabbed. Terror and panic when Reggie almost was hit by a gush of smoke, ash and embers. He remembered grabbing the prisoner's hand out of instinct, and the bizarre images gave him the worst kind of nausea._

 _He had woken up, and none of the men wasn't anywhere to be found. Remembering the intense heat from those very first dashes sent a shiver down his spine. He had been terrified to no end at the moment, but there was also that underlying thrill that made his heart jolt in his chest. Even now, he felt his blood rush faster through his veins, and he had to take a deep breath to get his emotions in control._

 _He remembered the terror when the prisoner blasted the truck toward Reggie. When his hands had started giving off smoke and embers as he pushed on that car. A small explosion, and then smoke, seemingly leaking from his skin - seeping out of his pours. He had cried out in panic and Reggie's strong arms had wrapped tightly around him._

 **...**

Delsin didn't even notice his heart was racing before his brother shook his elbow. He blinked a few times to focus on Reggie's face, and saw worry in his eyes. "Hey, Del? You alright?" he asked with concern and furrowed his brows. "What-? Yea, no, it's nothing, just-.." the younger answered while trying to get a hold of his emotions. He pressed his lips together and shoved his plate away before resting his forearms against the table and focusing his gaze on a small rock on the ground a few meters away. "Just thinking..." he stated absentmindedly while his thoughts once again traveled back to the past week.

 **...**

 _The doors closed behind him as Delsin watched how patches of solid concrete devoured the orange-clothed man, silencing him for good. Emerging from behind the newly formed concrete decoration was a woman with red hair and a black coat that reached down to her thighs. She circled the formation before turning her attention to him. He chuckled nervously while speaking, "Flushed out that conduit for ya! Good work guys! 'Specially you!"._

 _He was just about to leave when he heard her stern, cold voice speak directly to him, "Bio-terrorist". His heart skipped a beat and he stopped dead in his tracks. A drip of sweat rolled down his neck as he looked up at her. "Conduit is a word used by traitors who sympathizes with their cause. You're not a... Traitor, are you?" she continued._ _"I.. Try not to be.." he answered, his heart pounding in his chest. After that sentence, time seemed to speed up to the double, and before he knew it, shards of concrete had pierced through the back of his legs, and he was kneeling on the ground in front of her. Betty, the woman he'd grown to know as the closest thing to a mother figure since the death of his parents, were standing a few feet away, between two heavily armored men who held her firmly. His heart and mind was racing, but he couldn't let the red-headed bitch hurt Betty._

 _"I'm a conduit" he pressed out between clenched teeth. She turned to him with a dangerous spark in her eyes and asked him to repeat. "I'm a conduit!" he spat. "I just caught it from-.. That guy-!". She stretched her back and laughed at him. Her face quickly took on a condescending expression, and she looked at him as one would look at a shitty movie. "Caught it? You don't just 'catch' a power. You can't just 'become' a Bio-terrorist!" she stated while walking away from him, towards Betty. He felt a hatred rise within him, but there was nothing he could do with these shards in his legs. He heard the woman threaten to hurt the rest of the tribe, making the anger boil within. He cried out loud when an agonizing pain whipped his thigh, and he fell to the side. Before he blacked out, he saw shards of concrete pierce Betty's left calf, and she too fell to the ground._

 **...**

 _Reggie's P.O.V._

"Hey, Del? You alright?" he asked with concern and furrowed his brows. His younger brother answered with a stammer before shoving his plate to the other side of the table. His gaze focused on something behind Reggie before he absentmindedly said he was 'just thinking', and he zoned out again. The older man sighed and turned in his chair to admire the scenery around them.

They had picked a restaurant on the outskirts of town. Their table was placed just inside the fence, and right outside it was a sidewalk, a road, another sidewalk, and then a low wall to make sure the pedestrians didn't fall right down into the water below. The soft breeze resulted in small waves, which in turn made the surface sparkle from the rays of the sun. It was a quite beautiful view. He turned to his brother and opened his mouth to comment about it, but the words got stuck in his throat. Delsin's hands were clenched to the point where his knuckles whitened and trails of smoke was oozing from his skin. Terrified, Reggie threw a look over his shoulder to spot a police officer patrolling the sidewalk barely a few meters away. He turned back to his brother and leaned forward to grab his hands.

"Delsin, cut that off!" he hissed with only a hint of panic in his voice. At the mentioning of his name, Delsin blinked before looking down at his hands. His eyes widened and he jerked back, standing up with such speed the chair was knocked over. To no surprise, this got the attention of both civilians and cops, and multiple pair of eyes were aimed at the two of them. Time seemed to stop. The brothers' eyes met before the younger glanced over at the policeman behind Reggie. He himself stood up from his place, threw himself forward and ordered; " **RUN!** ".

Without hesitation, the two sprinted away from the scene. Screams could be heard behind them, and the police shouted at them to stop. None of them listened though, and they ran as fast as their legs could carry them towards an alley further ahead. In the back of his mind, Reggie knew this was wrong. This was against everything he had ever learned since he first signed up to become a sheriff, but he couldn't stop now. The man had seen him run together with his brother, so now it was too late to try to explain anything. They both were suspected, and there was nothing else than to keep running.

A sound he recognized as the loading of a gun reached his ears and he barked at Delsin to duck, but it was too late. Just before they sprinted into the alley, the gun was fired and multiple screams echoed in his ears. He prepared for the incredible pain that would soon struck him, but was surprised to see it was Delsin, and not him, that fell to the ground.

 _ **To be continued...**_


End file.
